: I feel the same way. I cringe when I see it on the water, which is
: often. Just recently we had one kid drown on a perfectly calm
: day on a small interior lake. He wasn't wearing his lifevest. A
: buddy of mine was on the SAR for him. It shook him up a bit.

: If you don't wear your lifevest while paddling the odds are stacked
: against you.

I know how your buddy feels Bryan. I've done some recoveries on scuba as a member of the area fire service. I've been at it long enough to be able to handle it, but it's always disturbing. I won't tolerate any member of my family not wearing a PFD, and always wear one myself. I've never attended a recovery call that wasn't preventable, except the ones that were deliberate. I guess those too were preventable with other support systems.

Kirk